Chrysopelea paradisi- The Paradise Tree Snake

Flying
Snake of Paradise and the Zodiac

History of the Chinese Zodiac-

The Chinese zodiac appears as a cycle of
12 animals; the rat, ox,
tiger, hare, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, cock, dog and
boar.
The Chinese zodiac was created as a way to represent the the 12
year cycle following the cyclic movement of time using the lunar
cycles.

For each animal, certain attributes are
given, much like Western horoscopes. Each animals attributes, in
turn, represent a certain aspect of the animal itself. For
example, horses can often be seen frolicking in theirenclosures
and playing with fellow horses. This led to horses generally
having a horoscope that places that person as someone who is
happy and enjoys the company of others.

Over the centuries, numerous stories as to how the
animals were chosen have arisen. There
are two major stories that tend to be used more than the rest
and are summed up
as follows:

1. One day, the Buddha called for a great race and the first 12 animals
that finished would receive a place in the zodiac.
As one would expect, the animals
finished in the order they are placed in the zodiac.

2. The Buddha called for a gathering for his departure of the
world, inviting all animals. The animals in
the zodiac were the ones who showed up and in that order.

Here's were everything comes together:

I chose the paradise tree snake for a multitude of
reasons that are all connected. To begin, the snake is an
integral part of the Chinese New Year, which like the American
New year celebrates the passing of the old and the coming of the
new.

The only problem was the time frame in which the Chinese
New year occurs, the
organism was suppose to coincide with a holiday that resides in the months of December and January, not
February, like the Chinese. That's where the years past come in.
Every year is designated in the sign of an animal in the order
that appears in the zodiac. The snake lands on the years of 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001.

Now,
1989 just happens to be my birthday, which in a matter of coincidence also happens to
reside in December.

****If you would like to
learn more about the animals pictured, a relative, or, in the
case of the dragon, an organism that was named after it; then
just click the image****

Fought a monkey; slink back to
Interactions.
Almost to the top; keep going to meet a fellow snake. Click the
snake.